MAXR Stock Jumps 13% After Reuters Hints at MDA Division Acquisition

It is no secret that it has been a rough year for Maxar Technologies (TSX:MAXR) (NYSE:MAXR). With sell-off news and MAXR stock dropping around 66% by late March, shareholders of the company have been feeling pretty miserable this year. Now, however, things are turning around. That’s what it looks like, at least.

Today, sparked by a report by Reuters, MAXR stock has jumped more than 10%, becoming a Yahoo Finance trending ticker of the day.

Here’s what we know.

MAXR Stock: A Turnaround on the Horizon?

Last month, NASA threw Maxar Technologies its first bone by issuing it a contract to play a role in the Artemis moon project. A move such as this showed shareholders that Maxar Technologies is still a company with an edge, a company that gets chosen among several other contenders. And something similar happened again today.

According to Reuters, Leonardo SpA, an Italian company, and Thales SA, a French company, are thinking about purchasing Maxar Technologies’ MDA space systems division. Of course, this is a rumor, but if it proves to be true, the acquisition will be one for the books: the two European companies are considering purchasing the division for a price that could go up to $1 billion.

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“We are considering that with our partner Thales,” explained Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo, according to Reuters. “For us, they have very good technology in the antennas for satellites, so it is an option we are considering.”

Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

Despite Profumo confirming interest, this is not a set deal. In fact, it might not even happen. And yet, MAXR stock jumped on the market today as if it was. According to Yahoo Finance, MAXR stock is trading at $8.99 on the NYSE at the time of writing; this puts MAXR stock up 13.26%.

It goes to show that, after a miserable year thus far, shareholders are just happy to see Maxar Technologies getting some attention.